To maximise the impact of our economic development programing and activities, it’s critical to design them well upfront with the audience as the central focus. What we know through our work is that in order for economics and economic development to be innovative and for initiatives to stick, they need to have a high level of design. A lack of skill in design tends to be where these initiatives fail to either launch correctly or their value realised because they have not fully solved the problem. Sparrowly Group's Federico Moreno provides a stepped approach to design thinking to help economic developers.

You probably know or have lived this scenario - you need to develop a Destination Management Plan or a Visitor Strategy and you need data to understand what's been happening or to know where your destination has come from. If you work in destination management, data is the one area that we all know we need to do better and be better at collecting, tracking, analysing it and reporting on it. When we don’t measure, reflect and act, it’s difficult to tell a comprehensive story to inform stakeholders and build true advocacy and partnerships with them.

At Sparrowly Group, sharing our knowledge and giving back to the industries we work in is core to our values. This week, four of our team members ventured out to present workshops and panels across New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia. We spoke on a variety of topics including driving customer loyalty, sustainable gastronomy, building local and industry advocacy, and the adoption of data to drive business success.

The ethical consumer demonstrates a shift in priorities in favour of purchasing from organisations that prioritise transparency and sustainability. Learning how to service this consumer will have lasting benefits for your business and the community in which you operate.